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WTF? Via Josh Marshall:

 The last 48 hours have seen multiple press reports of people who appear to be federal law enforcement patrolling in the vicinity of the White House, refusing to identify who they are or what agency they represent. According to a report this afternoon from Garrett Haake of NBC News federal law enforcement officers of some kind pushed the crowd perimeter back from the White House but refused to identify themselves, what agency they represented and had removed all insignia or name plates that might identify them.

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7 minutes ago, ghost of miles said:

WTF? Via Josh Marshall:

 The last 48 hours have seen multiple press reports of people who appear to be federal law enforcement patrolling in the vicinity of the White House, refusing to identify who they are or what agency they represent. According to a report this afternoon from Garrett Haake of NBC News federal law enforcement officers of some kind pushed the crowd perimeter back from the White House but refused to identify themselves, what agency they represented and had removed all insignia or name plates that might identify them.

As an outsider I've refrained from commenting on what's happening, but this is now really beginning to sound creepy... What's the US descending into??

Edited by J.A.W.
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15 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Maybe it is an indicator that this matter is REALLY serious and worries a lot of US forumists deeply?

As opposed to political discussion arising in two threads about that apparently minor pandemic that were shut down? :mellow: The current administration has been catastrophic on multiple fronts, so maybe we should start a thread about the environment, immigration policies, etc?  What issues are important enough to ignore the prohibition of political discussion?

Not engaging in political discussion here doesn't mean that people aren't doing so elsewhere.  In what discussion has seeped through, it's obvious who has been sipping the MAGA kool aid with their (Fox and) friends.  Beyond those few, most of us are decidedly on the left end of the political spectrum.  The divide between the two sides isn't likely to be bridged here.  

I don't do Facebook, but maybe someone can set up an Organissimo political discussion group for interested members?

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28 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Maybe it is an indicator that this matter is REALLY serious and worries a lot of US forumists deeply?

Contrary to this or that political discussion in the past about some (objectively speaking) minor domestic matter of not that great consequences overasll that some hick in the stick politician wanted to enact (or prevent) and that gave rise to flame wars here anyway because hotly partisan Reps and Dems went at each other's throats as a matter of principle? This here seems to be different. Different enough not to turn a blind eye on it. And as an outside observer I do understand their concerns.

Clifford Thornton's analogy of silence = complicity is comprehensible. After all you can ride a principle (such as this "no politics") to death and find yourself in some cloudcuckooland that all of a sudden isn't that cosy anymore either because the world out there IS still there and most of what happens there (and affects everybody'y lives) IS political.

:tup:tup:tup

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5 hours ago, Justin V said:

Two different COVID threads were closed because they veered into politics and this thread is on its third page. :huh:

I've been reading this thread with interest and contributed a couple of times, which I now think maybe I shouldn't have as I'm on the outside. I think the thread's been remarkably free of partisan mud-slinging politics, unlike the Covid threads, and hence has been allowed to run.  Most disagreement has been respectful and there hasn't been too much denigration of others views or of the individuals themselves.

I hope it can remain that way but I do wonder

48 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said:

 Silence = complicity.

:tup:tup

Edited by mjazzg
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It's all too sad what's happened. Ultimately it's a wake call or at least should be to everyone to actively address systematic racism that is present in many western societies.  It shouldn't be a political thing but just a matter of basic decency and fairness. 

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Well said Mr. Lunky.

From the Minnesota AG:  Important news: Chauvin's charge has been increased to 2nd degree Murder, and the three other officers have been charged with Aiding an Abetting Murder.

Edited by jazzbo
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I have found this discussion to be incredibly helpful.   Don't need to agree with everyone to be glad for hearing their thoughts and having mine heard.   I'm very centrist in my politics, a very lonely place to be in this era.  I have adopted the John Kasich mantra about voting for candidates rather than parties, have changed my party registration to enable me to have a meaningful primary vote, and have voted split ballots for the past several years.  We need outlets at this point and we have a pretty meaningful community here where we can support one another in this painful time regardless of placement on the political spectrum.  We are all hurting.

 

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From what I am reading third degree murder is for situations when you aren't targeting a specific person - like wanton disregard when driving drunk or discharging a gun and a bullet hits someone and kills them. So it might have been harder to get a conviction for 3rd degree.

The family wants 1st degree but I think most would see that as a very heavy lift and a recipe for an acquital or hung jury.

2nd degree unintentional homicide makes sense - felony murder for you Law & Order fans.  Keeping his knee on his neck constituted assault, the assault resulted in his death. Proving he intended to kill him is not easy.

Heaven help us if Ellison overcharges or screws this up and the a-hole gets off or a hung jury.

 

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1 hour ago, Justin V said:

In what discussion has seeped through, it's obvious who has been sipping the MAGA kool aid with their (Fox and) friends.  Beyond those few, most of us are decidedly on the left end of the political spectrum.  The divide between the two sides isn't likely to be bridged here. 

I prefer HI-C or Hawaiian Punch over Kool-Aid.

 

 

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20 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

Heaven help us if Ellison overcharges or screws this up and the a-hole gets off or a hung jury.

Yep, this is where we all (hopefully) want Keith Ellison to bring his A-game straight through, all the way, do NOT fuck this up.

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1 hour ago, jazzbo said:

Well said Mr. Lunky.

From the Minnesota AG:  Important news: Chauvin's charge has been increased to 2nd degree Murder, and the three other officers have been charged with Aiding an Abetting Murder.

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
 

The Rock should drop his knee on that MFers neck for 8+ minutes 

Edited by Soulstation1
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Oh, as it pertains to "politics" in this thread...we're walking a very fine line here, and maybe have veered outside it before puling it back in, but for the record - yes, this whole time feels more than a little "existential crisis"-y for so many people in so many ways, that have at once everything and nothing to do with "politics". so here's what my principles are going to be on this thread - the more the discussion is about actual events and circumstances the discourse is, facts, the safer we are. The more it goes towards actual politics and political figures, the closer outside the lines we go, and the more moderation will be watching to see how quick it comes back in. And if this ever turns into, to use Mika Breshinski's most memorable of phrases (at least I heard it from her), a drunken beer truck, then yeah, we're done here.

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I was out for the first time Monday (just got my first haircut in almost 4 months, and now I look worthy of going into boot-camp).

And I discovered practically all the store fronts 2-3 and 4 blocks north of me - the heart of the commercial district of our Columbia Heights neighborhood - were now all boarded up (presumably Tuesday morning, or perhaps Monday afternoon/evening even) in anticipation of possible looting.

ALL retail stores, most restaurants nicer than fast-food, liquor stores, and even the CVS and another independent pharmacy - all covered floor to ceiling, stem to stern in plywood. Even the interior windows of the Target (inside our urban mini-mall retail, called DC-Usa).

Caught me by surprise, more than slightly too. BTW/FYI, we live in the (now) densest zip-code in all of Washington DC (population density). But an area that was well more than half “fully destroyed” in the aftermath of the 1968 riots here in Washington (second only to the U Street area, exactly one mile north of us).

We’ve not seen any unrest at all in our neighborhood, but there were some peaceful protesters down at 14th and U (a mile down the hill, south). Other than just the one Police Car that was torched overnight Sun or Mon (I forget which) less than a mile south of here. Which I consider to be very isolated (far as I know), in terms of stuff of any sort happening up here.

We do still have Helicopters overhead at night, but nothing like the military helicopters buzzing protesters Herr in DC - barely 20-25 feet over their heads here (in Dupont Circle, Downtown, and closer to the White House).

Not sure what else to say, without getting into politics.

Edited by Rooster_Ties
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3 hours ago, Dan Gould said:

The family wants 1st degree but I think most would see that as a very heavy lift and a recipe for an acquital or hung jury.

2nd degree unintentional homicide makes sense - felony murder for you Law & Order fans.  Keeping his knee on his neck constituted assault, the assault resulted in his death. Proving he intended to kill him is not easy.

Heaven help us if Ellison overcharges or screws this up and the a-hole gets off or a hung jury.

 

I believe that Dan is correct.  Some here are attorneys, right?  The more serious the charge, the more likely a hung jury - right?

I got my first haircut and beard trim in a very long time today.  It feels great!

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11 hours ago, Justin V said:

As opposed to political discussion arising in two threads about that apparently minor pandemic that were shut down? :mellow: The current administration has been catastrophic on multiple fronts, so maybe we should start a thread about the environment, immigration policies, etc?  What issues are important enough to ignore the prohibition of political discussion?

 

I was definitely not referring to the Corona virus threads (the subject of which is far from minor to all of us and important enough for sure and I would have prefered the threads to continue with more leeway but that's only me) but to much, MUCH older political discussions about what local/regional politicker did what (or not) on what fiscal or credit matter or whatever from some reach of every day life and how forumists got all excited about what could not be because it should not be because it came from the wrong political camp. Where positions seemed to be carved into stone for ideological reasons beyond belief. Much more agitated than anything discussed here and rather baffling (and unnecessary) to non-US onlookers.

Edited by Big Beat Steve
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